This is a modern term. One would imagine that the LNWR would use the term SACK in relation to a driver doing this! In 1998 over 630 signals were passed at danger. The vast majority were passed by a few metres and stopped in the overlap. Most were caused by slippery rail conditions affecting braking. Some were caused by signals changing to red a short time before the train approached it because the signal had failed. Signals, like most railway equipment, are designed to fail-safe, and will display a red aspect if they fail. A few, however, were due to drivers failing to observe the red signal.

In April 1881 Mr. Webb rebuilt ‘DX’ No.460 with a new 140 psi boiler of the same kind fitted to the ‘17in Coal Engines’. No definite information on the origin of the term ‘Special’ seems to be available, but was perhaps only used once the engines were vacuum-fitted to denote those specially fitted to work Passenger trains.

Drivers and Firemen usually worked with several men (often 12 or more) rotating round a duty cycle called a ‘link’. A Special Link had no regular train but were called out at short notice to take any job that turned up unexpectedly.

This was Ramsbottom’s last design, which was in effect a saddle Tank version of the ‘DX’ for shunting, with the same cylinders and wheelbase but slightly smaller wheels and boiler. Two of the class were modified with rectangular saddle tanks and condensing apparatus for use in Wapping tunnel, Liverpool. From 1895 they were used on the American Special boat trains through Waterloo and Victoria tunnels between Edge Hill and Riverside, Liverpool, for this duty they were painted in fully lined livery, and named “EUSTON” and “LIVERPOOL”

Any train which does not appear in the working timetable and so special notice needs to be given to stations and signal boxes along its route when it runs. Such trains might be arranged in response to demands which could not be foreseen in advance (e.g. special trains to Wembley for the FA Cup Final) or which were only occasional (e.g. the “banana specials” from Garston).